The Bruins earned a comeback win in overtime against the Stars on Tuesday, but it couldn’t have been done without a strong third period.
Boston made it a 2-2 game midway through the final 20 minutes to force overtime where David Pastrnak sealed the win to give his team its 40th win of the season — the first NHL team to reach this mark.
It didn’t look so great for the Bruins at the beginning, but just as we’ve seen so many times this season, a strong third period made all the difference.
Here are five takeaways from the Bruins’ win.
Pavel Zacha continues to shine
New Jersey Devils fans were excited to see Zacha get traded. He never quite reached his ceiling while in New Jersey, but Zacha has been a seamless fit as a member of the Bruins. That trend continued Tuesday with a two-point night, including the game-tying goal in the third and an assist on Pastrnak’s game-winner. Zacha now has 37 points on the year, a new career-high for the forward.
“(Zacha) was outstanding all night,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the win. “He took pucks to hard areas. The goal was great, but he had a couple of plays where he was taking it to the net, and (Jake) Oettinger made really good saves on him. He was dangerous all night long. He’s one of our main penalty killers, and he’s a big part of what they were able to do (Tuesday).”
Bruins’ identity returns
Prior to the All-Star break, the Bruins looked as if fatigue had caught up to them at times. They suffered their first losing streak of the season. It almost looked as if that was going to happen again Tuesday, but the Bruins returned to their dominant ways in the third period and showed just why they’re the NHL’s best team in those final 20 minutes.
“It was nice to win a game where we had to overcome so many struggles within the game, the penalty kills, playing really well but not having a lead, trailing. Keep pushing, keep believing,” Montgomery told reporters. “There’s a lot of belief in that locker room that if we play the right way, we’ve got a lot of depth that can overcome a lot of adversity.
” … They were struggling to even reach the red line in the third period, especially the last 10 minutes. We just kept pouring it on. That’s Bruins hockey. That’s our identity there.”
Siblings provide added motivation
The B’s siblings tagged along for their two-game road trip, which gave the team some extra time with their family they don’t often get during the season. Some came from out of the country, like Zacha’s sister Leona, making her first trip to America. Having family in the stands only added motivation for the Bruins to get the win while giving their brothers and sisters a thrilling game to watch.
“We wanted to win the game for them, too,” Zacha told reporters. “It’s gonna be way more fun for them to enjoy this road trip when it’s gonna be a win or two wins. I’m happy. She’s never been to U.S. before so seeing these cities and winning the game, it’s huge. I’m happy that she’s enjoying it.”
Linus Ullmark, whose brother was on hand for his 29-save performance, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.
“A lot of the people there have traveled a long way. None of them have done this before,” Ullmark told reporters. “My brother is here as well. It’s a very special feeling for me as well. It’s just fun. On this trip, you want to have two wins. We want to do it for them, we want to show how good we are. We get a little bit more motivated than usual now when we have them with us.”
Jim Montgomery earns win No. 100
Lost in the excitement of a comeback win was the fact that Montgomery earned his 100th NHL win. It also come against the team that gave him his first head coaching job. It’s been one heck of a debut season with the Bruins for Montgomery, to say the least, leading Boston to a 40-8-5 record, getting the most out of his players and being atop the league standings for much of the year.
Three cheers for the penalty kill
The Bruins were dreadful at the faceoff dot Tuesday night but excelled on the penalty kill. The Stars had four power plays but were unable to capitalize on any opportunity because of Boston’s dominant penalty killing.
“When you look at the struggles we’ve had here in the last five to six games, to have a game like that, it seemed like everything was going against us,” Montgomery told reporters. “We had to kill off a 5-on-3, had to kill off a 4-on-3. But I loved the way we played hard for each other. We blocked shots, everyone was blocking shots, and we went to hard areas consistently and I thought our D-men were extremely active. That really helped out 5-on-5 offense.”
